How much is a Whiplash injury worth?

Thousands of road traffic accidents happen on a daily basis on Britain’s congested roads. Many of these accidents lead to drivers and passengers suffering from whiplash injuries. These can be minor and resolve in a matter of weeks or they can last months/years requiring extensive physiotherapy or chiropractic treatment.

We have dealt with thousands of these types of claims and the length of the injury determines the amount of damages clients can recover.

Under the Civil Liability Bill which went before Parliament again this week, the total damages that will be paid for whiplash injuries in the future will be dramatically reduced using a tariff system. The table below shows what will be recoverable when the Bill comes into force which at present is estimated to be April 2019.

The vast majority of whiplash claims that we deal with see a full recovery within 6-12 months. Under the new tariff system, the awards will ultimately result in injured clients not being able to get a solicitor to represent them as the legal fees will not be recoverable. This will leave injured people unrepresented and at the mercy of large insurance companies and have to deal with claims themselves.

We have just settled a 4 month whiplash injury claim and arranged for the client to have a course of physiotherapy treatment to aid his recovery. The damages awarded for his injury was £2150. Under the new system, he would receive £450 – a reduction of almost 80%.

The Government and insurance companies are pushing these changes through and claiming that it will result in savings to motor insurers on their premiums of around £30. This promise was made back in 2013 when legal fees were slashed by 60%. The savings were not passed onto motorists then and we doubt that they will be this time.

Injured clients will be the ones that suffer here whilst insurers increase their profits.

If you are interested in making a claim, contact me, David McWilliam via email or call on 01202 057710.